BOE addresses employment, hears school safety reports

By Iva Kay Horner Publisher/Editor

Posted:
05/13/2014 08:25:29 AM MDT

Updated:
05/13/2014 08:26:36 AM MDT

Brush FFA Chapter member Emma Mortensen presented Africa to the Brush BOE at last week s meeting. This is a presentation she will give at the FFA State Prepared Public Speaking event on May 27. (Iva Kay Horner/News-Tribune)

With the end of the school year nearing to a close, the agenda of the Brush Board of Education (BOE) was full at last week's meeting.Among the items covered by the board was an hour-long executive session with board members voting 4-3 in open session to increase the salary of Superintendent of Schools Dr. Michelle Johnstone.The motion, made by Mike Dixon, stated that due to significant cuts made in personnel in the administrative office and the extra time and responsibilities the BOE has requested of Dr. Johnstone, that her salary be increased to $120,000 for the next school year to at least partially compensate the superintendent.Voting against the increase were Warren Walker, Margo Mesch and John Trujillo.Other employment matters found the board approving the resignations of Jami Dewey, fourth grade teacher at Beaver Valley Elementary School and Mary Alice George from her position as English teacher at Brush High School, along with Christi Boettcher's resignation dealing with the Valley Voice Choir stipend and Marie Theresa Padilla from her paraprofessional position at Thomson Primary School.Employed were Catarina Hlozek and Mikaela Crowfoot-Beyette as first grade teachers at Thomson Primary, and Kathryn Geber as a Special Education teacher at Thomson and Beaver Valley schools for the 2014-15 school year. The board also approved the transfer of Cathy Fleming from Thomson to intervention specialist at Beaver Valley.

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The board also approved non-renewal resolutions involving Cary Dolman and Sharron Rutz with the explanation that the actions were accepted due to their positions being eliminated in the district and not because of performance issues.In other business, principals from each of the schools presented their respective building safety reports providing information relating to enrollment, the number and type of incidents that have taken place in each building, in-school and out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, average class size and parental involvement.BHS Principal Dan Kennedy told board members that it has been a process to get summative reviews done for Senate Bill 191, but is working through it. His staff also continue to work on aligning the high school curriculum and prepare for implementation of Common Core math that is forthcoming on the PARCC test.In meeting the high school's goal of community engagement, Kennedy explained that Dean of Students Ron Albo has had 278 meetings with parents/guardians concerning grades, four home visits and 116 meetings involving attendance issues. Counselors have met with more than 200 students for personal and/or social counseling as well.Business items found the board approving the second reading of board policies dealing with professional staff schedules and calendars and staff general leave, as well as discussing two scholarships with school attorney Dennis Brandenburg. BHS Assistant Principal/Athletic Director Jason Strauch reviewed the situation regarding the safety of football helmets as the concern was brought up due to a study completed by Virginia Tech in May 2013.The helmets used at BHS, Strauch explained, are ranked as four-star on the five-star rating system, with every helmet produced after 2013 listed as a three-star helmet."Brush is pretty much in line with others in using the four-star rated helmets," he stated, adding that a majority of the state uses four-star ranked helmets.According to Strauch, the five-star is only slightly higher than what Brush currently is using, with another test to be expected to take place next year. Typically, the district replaces five to eight helmets each year, which would take 10 years to cycle through each helmet, Strauch said.Prior to the regular meeting of the board, a study session was held where RFP presentations were made by Chartwells and Southwest Food Service Excellence (SFE), both of whom are looking to provide food service to Brush and Merino School Districts next year.Each organization was given 30 minutes to make their presentation with board members from both Brush and the Buffalo School Districts in attendance.In addition to currently serving both districts, Chartwells works with several other Colorado school districts, as well as the Denver Boy Scout Camp.Yearly, the company and its 153 employees serve 25,514 students in Colorado, serving 1.2 million breakfast meals, 2.5 million lunches, and 54,000 snacks.New to Colorado, Brush would be the first school district in the state for SFE, a company that began in 2004, and now operates in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Oklahoma, Missouri, New Mexico and Texas. District enrollment for this company ranges from 300 to 36,000 students.The boards have five options to consider in the request for proposals including Brush using Chartwells or SFE, using one or the other company with the Buffalo School District or having the Brush School District self-operate the food service.Merino will vote on the RFP at its May 19 meeting with Brush BOE members to vote at its next meeting on May 20. That meeting begins at 7 p.m. and will be held at the district office.

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